Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/148061
Voices What trucking issues should the new dot secretary focus on? "We need to go back to the way it was with logging hours – the big guys are making the decisions without any experience on the road." Arthur Fitzpatrick Johnson City, Tenn. Owner-operator leased to Uft Transportation "I don't like the 34-hour restart rule. Why can't we just run 10 every day? We should be able to choose our own hours." Willie Smith Aliceville, Ala., Company driver, Vernon Miller Trucking "We need more leniency on the hours rules for teams – it's designed too restrictively for single drivers." Steve Ward Manchester, Tenn. Company driver, Ryder The 14-hour reg is "too strict – we don't get enough breaks." Amilcar Gonzales Los Angeles Company driver, NJ Trucking "We need to have several laws set up to promote safer drivers, both truckers and passenger cars, on the road – headlights on when raining, and a certain amount of time for passing someone." Norman Breeland Hattiesburg, Miss., Company driver, USAL Transportation PULSE Earning flexibility T ruckers' mantra regarding hours of service increasingly has been: "Let me drive when I'm rested, and rest when I'm tired." Of course, that precept is subject to abuse, so regulators feel they have to do something. We all know the messes their good intentions have birthed, especially the complicated regs that took effect last month. Well-known driver Jeff Clark, in his 2008 book, "Hey We're Dying Out Here: The Truth Behind The Trucker Shortage," advocated a partial solution to the fatigue that often results from regulators' one-size-fits-all hours approach for an industry that needs more flexibility. He calls it the Gold Card system. After a given number of miles (or years) with no violations or at-fault wrecks, a driver would earn the card. This status would bring freedom from hours of service on the assumption that this is an experienced, safe driver who knows when to drive and rest. For fleets, "It would be a feather in your cap to have a high percentage of Gold Card drivers," Clark says. Bragging rights would help with customers and driver recruits. The designation would do even more for drivers. Their proven expertise would command higher pay. For drivers still accumulating safe miles, it would give them something to aspire to beyond tiny pay increases. Assuming many drivers would be at least in their 30s when they earn their card, it would be quite welcome for those doing lots of nighttime driving. Studies of circadian cycles – the body's normal daily rhythms – show that starting around age 40, it becomes much harder to rest soundly or stay alert when subjected to irregular night work. "If I have a bad night's sleep, now it messes me up for three or four days," says Clark, 54. Now leased to Paper Transport of Green Bay, Wis., Clark has been driving 25 years. An obvious flaw in the concept is that fleets and drivers could abuse the newfound freedom. "I would hope it's quite a status Jeff Clark says he's gotten good response from drivers on his proposal to ease log restrictions for safe, experienced drivers. and you wouldn't want to risk anything," Clark says. Though some fleets would want to exploit the advantage, in an ideal world drivers with the card would have no trouble finding a fleet that respects it. One possibility to avoid that problem might be giving card holders a more liberal hours regimen instead of complete freedom from logs. For example, limit total on-duty hours, but grant flexible rest periods. Such a system would be only a partial solution, but a definite improvement. As it is, regulators treat drivers as helpless clones. The reality is they are individuals with varying sleep needs and patterns, and their jobs are equally varied. Some drivers are smarter and more disciplined than others. For them, more freedom to control their difficult work schedules isn't too much to ask. By Max Heine Editorial director mheine@randallreilly.com 4 | Overdrive | August 2013 Voices_0813.indd 4 7/30/13 11:19 AM